Perfect Plan? More Like Perfect Disaster
I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to stay steady. “W-what are you talking about?”
I tried to sound bold, just like I had with Rin, even though I was terrified my voice might crack like a pathetic bleating goat.
“Meian, you were originally a top student… weren’t you?”
It could have been a temporary backlash from the suggestion magic. But the longer I looked, the more those eyes seemed like bottomless abysses—slightly unhinged, swirling with darkness. I met them head-on anyway.
“……Teacher, may I tell you a little story?”
“Huh? …What story?”
“……It’s about things that happened to me when I was a student.”
She didn’t back up even an inch. In that uncomfortably close stance, she began laying out the path she had walked, one slow word at a time.
“……Right after I entered school, the girls bullied me because I was a commoner and my eyes creeped them out.”
“I-is that so?”
“……Yes. They found fault with everything and tormented me. They experimented on me with newly learned magic like I was a lab rat in a cage. They made me drink forbidden potions and controlled me so I’d confess to the most popular boy in class. Once they stole my uniform, scribbled all over it, and I had to attend class in my regular clothes until I got kicked out.”
“…….”
I had no idea how to respond. The heavy weight of her past caught in my throat. I hadn’t asked for any of this, yet she dumped it all on me. I wondered why she was telling me these uncomfortable stories, and then—
“……And after all that? During high school, my body started undergoing strange changes.”
“What… kind of changes?”
“……Because I suffered so much, I developed resistance to mental magic. I gained complete immunity to most suggestion spells.”
“Cough—cough!”
A violent cough burst out of me. I used it as an excuse to cover my face and stare at the floor. My hands were shaking uncontrollably; I pinched my thigh hard to keep them still.
…I’m so fucking screwed.
Cold sweat poured down my back. My whole body flushed hot, like someone had flipped a switch. Was there ever worse luck in the world? An unforeseen variable like this left only one sentence spinning in my brain.
Academy teacher—gets fired the moment he starts the job.
Immunity to mental magic? I’ve never heard of that! How the hell does this even happen…!
The plan had been perfect. I had prepared everything to brainwash her flawlessly. I had no idea the world would screw me over like this.
“……Teacher?”
“……”
I stayed calm. There was still a way. The door was still locked—this was a perfect sealed room. The only person who had witnessed this dangerous secret was the gloomy girl right in front of me.
…Heh.
Therefore, the answer was obvious. If I just shut that mouth, the problem would be solved. So—
THUD!
“I’m sorry! Please, just let it slide this once!”
“……Eh?”
There was only one escape route. I slammed my forehead to the ground in apology. Nothing else came to mind. I had no choice.
What kind of ridiculous hard counter is this…!
This variable was fatal. Even if I tried something rough, it wouldn’t work. With mental immunity, no method would have any effect. For example, even if I knocked her out with a spell, what came after would be the real problem. If I overpowered her by force, it would only add to my crimes. The last desperate idea that occurred to me was to use attack magic and then secretly bury her behind the mountain, but I wasn’t ready to go full UFC criminal. Besides, there wasn’t even a place in the academy to bury a body.
“……Are you surrendering already?”
“S-surrender? No, this is an apology! It was… temporary insanity or mental weakness or something! So please take that into consideration…! Just don’t spread rumors or snitch, please!”
“……Ehhh…”
I pressed my head down as hard as I could. But the one who looked flustered by my behavior was actually Meian. When I cautiously lifted my head, she wore a genuinely puzzled expression, as if she couldn’t understand at all.
“……T-Teacher. Don’t you think it’s a bit early to start apologizing just because you got caught using one spell?”
“…Huh?”
“……It’s strange, isn’t it?”
She tilted her head, looking truly confused.
“If I told anyone, you could threaten to go after my family, or give me penalties so I could never graduate, or use violence to clean up the situation. Or if that didn’t work—”
Gulp…♥
“……You could use your authority as a teacher to turn me into your s-sex slave…”
She whispered while cupping her own cheeks. Her body twisted as if she were genuinely prepared for it.
I could only stare. Still on my knees on the floor, I looked up at her with utterly bewildered eyes.
…What the hell is this crazy bitch saying?
In my head, this variable was a definite checkmate. The single click of “immunity” had blocked every possible move. I thought the only option left was a quick apology.
But then—
“……You could have blackmailed me in return, or since the door is already locked, you could have forcibly stripped me, overpowered me, and threatened to get me pregnant by force…♥”
…Shiver. Shiver♥
This insane girl was spewing out her own contaminated scenarios without any input from me. Even if I rewound time, these were deranged scenarios I would never have considered. The important thing was her attitude—she didn’t seem to care at all that she had caught me using magic.
“So… you’re not going to snitch?”
“……Snitch? Getting hit with magic out of nowhere is just another day for me. Besides, the suggestion didn’t work anyway…”
“So you’re really not going to tell anyone?”
“……Well… it would just make things messy and annoying. Do I really have to?”
“No no no! You really don’t have to!”
Behind her dark impression, a brilliant light seemed to shine. Ah, I saw an angel. I had even imagined hanging myself after my career path got completely blocked, but a hand of salvation had pulled me up from the mud.
She looked gloomy on the outside, but she was actually a good kid. Willingly forgiving someone who tried to hypnotize her? If it were me, I would have beaten them to a pulp.
“Thank you, thank you so much!”
Overcome with emotion, I bowed my head once more. The moment I lifted it again, now that I had proudly received absolution—
“……But, Teacher. I just changed my mind.”
Freeze…
A blood-draining twist of a sentence. The terror of being dragged out of the mud only to be thrown straight into the abyss.
“……Yes?”
“……You see,”
Her breathing grew rough. Until now she had spoken slowly and clearly, but now the words poured out in an excited rush.
“……Seeing you stay on your knees like that… it feels kind of fun. Or maybe empowering. I wonder if this is what a first victory in life feels like. It’s making me strangely excited.”
“……”
“……Teacher, I have one question.”
She swallowed the saliva that had pooled in her mouth with an audible gulp, then asked,
“……Did you plan to control Class Z like this? To manipulate them?”
“No, that’s—”
“……If you lie, I’ll run straight to the Chairwoman. This will be the first time I snitch on you, Teacher.”
“I did! I was going to use magic to control those stubborn blockheads who won’t listen!”
“……Aah, just as I thought.”
When I confessed everything honestly, she nodded in understanding. Her swirling eyes grew even wilder, spinning faster.
“……Then, I now hold your weakness, don’t I?”
“I guess so…”
“……Aah, sharing a secret with a man for the first time…♥”
She was dangerous. As dangerous as handing top-secret information to a terrorist holding an AK-47. Right now, I had no choice but to go along with her.
When I made a face like I had bitten into a sour persimmon, Meian gently wrapped her hands around my right hand as if to reassure me.
“……Don’t worry, Teacher. I won’t spread any rumors. After all, I don’t have a single friend.”
“…Is that so?”
“……Yes. So I’ll keep your secret. Instead,”
She smiled brightly. It was a girl’s smile, and while it should have looked pretty, I didn’t think it was cute at all.
“……I want to use this to make things difficult for you, Teacher. I want to torment you just like those kids who tormented me…♥”
I was looking at a demon.
I had shown the biggest stain on my life to a crazy bitch who might do who-knows-what.
God damn it…
My career as an academy teacher was ruined before it even began. Everything was flowing in a completely different direction from the scenario I had planned.
+ + +
“…Attendance number four, Soria von Emme, right?”
“Yup! It’s hard to say, so just call me Soria, Teach!”
Every time she tilted her head, her platinum-gold hair fluttered. Loose socks, a short skirt, and long fake nails. She was the very picture of a flashy girl trying her hardest to stand out. The type they called a gyaru in the academy.
She had been loud in class, but when I called her out separately, she just seemed like a bright, cheerful girl. Compared to the previous ones, she was relatively polite and had an easy-to-like face. It looked like the only reason she ended up in Class Z was because she was completely empty-headed.
So I seriously considered it.
Should I try just one more time…?
The setup was perfect. In theory, there was no way that ridiculous bad luck would strike again. But still—
Shake shake shake shake…
What if another variable appears? What if I cast the suggestion and she’s fine just like that crazy bitch before her…?
Having failed twice already, my head was pounding. With fresh, delicious prey right in front of me, my legs trembled as I finally shouted,
“…Soria!”
“Y-yes!?!”
The words burst out in irritation. Then my sigh deflated like a balloon with a hole in it.
“……Let’s work hard together from now on.”
“Ah! Yes, I’ll really study hard, Teach!”
I just gave up. Afraid things would get even more twisted, I took a step back like the coward I was.